


What Do You Mean Married?!

by NoctisAgain



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Au where blood sacrifice crystals don't exist, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, I dare say domestic fluff is the best fluff, M/M, Miscommunication, More tags to follow, Romance, This continues from like highschool and beyond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25371313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoctisAgain/pseuds/NoctisAgain
Summary: Two people in a happy romantic relationship.Except one doesn't realize it.Yes, they're married.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 24
Kudos: 101





	1. A Slightly Imperfect Lovestory

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [just bros bein' bros](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10598151) by [unsungillumination](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsungillumination/pseuds/unsungillumination). 



If you ask Noctis, it all started their final year of high school. If you pressed further (with the help of Gladio sitting on him to keep him from running and force him to spill the slightly embarrassing truth), he would admit that it actually started the three months into his and Prompto's friendship. 

At that point, they were already acting as though they’ve known each other for years and basically spend every free moment together. Even if their friendship was still new, Noctis felt as though Prompto was someone he could trust to see him as just Noct and not some prince when it mattered. Prompto somehow bulldozed through his walls and became someone he held dear in his heart in a way no one can replace. When a typical lunch at the rooftop suddenly caused him to realize he was actually in love with his friend, he never experienced the shock of his newfound feelings like all those love stories.

_He stared thoughtfully at Prompto. His sunny smile and perfect laugh. The way he knew when Noctis wanted comfort and support. And his eyes. And oh god, his eyes. They were earnest and made Prompto an open book to everyone who bothered to look. Ok, Noctis thought. He was in love. Now how should confess and get together with him?_

So the sudden shock in realizing he was in love with his best friend didn’t happen. But just because it never happened didn’t mean Noctis immediately confess to Prompto. You see, Noctis had a problem with expressing his feelings. Combine that with Prompto’s obliviousness ( _Prompto still thinks the letters on his desk with hearts and his literal name on it belong to someone else Astrals damn and bless this boy_ ) and self-esteem issues, a lot of the plans laid out to perfectly express that he wants to pursue a romantic relationship with him(and maybe suck faces) fail. Miserably.

He spent the rest of high school getting closer to Prompto and attempting to get together with him (a good chunk of his plans either get shut down by Ignis or doesn’t work due to the previously mentioned obstacles). They hold hands, cuddle, snuggle and even go to romantic date spots occasionally. By the last day of high school, the two have practically checked off every point in the “They're totally dating” list and Noctis still hasn’t successfully gotten his point across. So at his last leg and out of frustration (and a good dose of desperation), he does the only thing he hasn't tried yet (Aside from, y’know, doing the direct thing and saying explicitly what he wants. Like a normal human). 

He kissed him.

Prompto was literally in front of him and was smiling. He was going on about their friendship and Noctis went on autopilot to kiss him. The moment Noctis realized that maybe this wasn't a good idea to do a full-on makeout session with his crush/best friend, it was already too late to pull back and pretend he didn’t intend to kiss him. His lips were on his. And just as quickly as he pressed his lips on Prompto's, he moved away. His cheeks were blazing and he looked at Prompto's face. 

_abort abort. Oh shit, he's making the I-am-confused-and-processing face that concludes with discontent 90% of the time. Damn Noct, you fucked up now how will you— o h._

Prompto kisses him back. It was just a peck on the lips. But still. It was a kiss. On the lips. And he's blushing too. 

"Uh, did I do it right Noct?" 

Prompto refuses to meet his eyes. Noctis can’t help but smile and hug Prompto. 

"More than right. Perfect."

The two left their high school holding hands and that's how they got together and eventually married.

At least, if you ask Noctis

If you ask Prompto, he will look at you dead in the eye and say he never realized they were dating and got married until their first anniversary.


	2. The Beginning (Supposedly)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto's version of the first three months and how he sees Noct.

To him, Noctis seemed like a lonely guy. He was hard and those who did all seemed to want something from The Prince. So when Prompto tried to introduce himself, he hoped that the two could become friends based on the fact that the two of them didn't have friends. 

You know the result of that. 

Prompto saw the failed attempt as a wake-up call. A reminder that even if Noctis was lonely, he was still way out of Prompto’s reach. But despite that (and with some encouragement from a certain Oracle), Prompto persisted. He became determined to work himself towards becoming someone that could stand on Noctis’ level (and maybe help get rid of that lonely look in his eyes). So he started running and eating better (learning to make vegetables taste better really helped in dissuading the desire to eat fast food every day). It took a while but when he finally felt like he could approach Noctis again and re-attempt the plan for friendship. 

_(“Hey there Prince Noctis! I’m Prompto, nice to meet you!” He gave a smile and waited for a response._

_“Don’t I know you?”_

_Ah. Well shit. But before Prompto can give some response that isn't a nervous laugh,_ _Noctis gives him a smile. Mission accomplished: Befriend the lonely prince.)_

Prompto took his chance and attempted to become good friends with Noctis. Which wasn’t difficult to do when the two of them have a surprisingly big list of things in common and both have what it takes to support the other. 

_(The two were at Noct's place studying up a storm. Prompto looked up from his notebook and noticed how Noctis was looking like he was ready to commit a murder._

_“You alright?”_

_“Do I look alright?” Noctis snapped. Prompto flinched, which made Noctis immediately deflate. “Sorry Prom. I just don’t get this.”_

_“Bro, don’t sweat it. People have trouble getting things all the time. You’re no exception. Here let me try explaining.”_

_Noctis looked at Prompto in a new light that day. And it wasn’t because he was a hidden math genius._

* * *

_This time around, the two relaxing on the couch and browsing their phones._

_"_ _You know you’re my best friend right?” Noct said out of the blue._

_“Yeah right. This pleb? I don’t think so.”_

_Noctis frowned. Prompto thought that he must’ve wanted some more banter before the rejection of the idea. Before he could try to fix his mistake with more deprecating humour, Prompto squawked as he got pushed over. There was now a weight on top of his fallen body._

_Noctis sat on him._

_“Hey buddy? Mind getting off? Not to say you’re heavy, but this is super uncomfortable.”_

_“You are not just any pleb. You're my best friend. Even if you do sound like a sick chocobo.”_

_“Hey, I do not sound like a sick chocobo!”_

_"You also have the nicest sounding laugh ever."_

_"...huh?"_

_Noctis continued sitting on Prompto and complimenting him for another 40 minutes. For the next few weeks, Prompto couldn't stop blushing every time he remembered a compliment Noct said that night.)_

Prompto was grateful to Noctis. It was Noctis that helped push him out of his comfort zone. Who accepted him and liked him even if he was nothing special. Prompto treasured their friendship and prayed that whichever divine being watching over would let him remain ever at his side.

His prayer got answered. Just not in the way he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Prompto was recruited to be a mathlete when people started noticing his insane math skills. He only quit in favour of spending more time with Noctis (Noctis was suspiciously happier and got less clingy when he admitted that’s why he quit). There are occasional moments when Iggy is doing some sort of budget or report and uses him as a human calculator ("6% of 1983" "118.98" "What the hell, Prom?!"). Once he calculated the angle and velocity he needed to take to land a water balloon on Gladio's head. Gladio was not amused.  
> * When Noctis sat on Prompto, Ignis was there. He just didn’t want to deal with whatever teenage bonding ritual was happening and ignored Prompto’s cries for help as he made dinner. The only reason why Noctis stopped 40 minutes in was that Ignis said the food was ready.  
> * When Noct was in the middle of training with Gladio the next day, it suddenly hit him that he never complimented Prompto on his freckles. Gladio stared at him strangely when he told him.  
> I apologize for any weird errors and promise I'll fix them as soon as I notice (probably). Hope you enjoyed this so far~ Next up is the trainwreck of Noctis' first year of (attempted) confessions.


	3. Chapter 3- Kinks (Get your minds out of the gutter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first year of high school and some odd wrinkles in their relationship (aka those first times where Noctis tries to pursue a relationship with Prompto and Prompto doesn't get it)

Prompto doesn’t have a basis for what’s in a normal friendship. He’s seen how friends act with his classmates back in elementary school and read blogs on what healthy friendships looked like but watching and reading isn’t exactly the same as experiencing. So when it comes down to it, he assumes that the actions Noctis (with his experience in friendships with his shield and advisor) takes when he spends time with Prompto are normal. But despite Prompto’s decision to let Noctis take the lead in deepening their bond, there were occasional moments where things were strange to Prompto at first.

Nicknames

Noctis was the one who started with a nickname. The two were on the rooftop at his suggestion, mentioning that he wanted to ask about something important. They had sat down and started eating lunch when Prompto brought it up.

“So, what do you wanna ask? Is it about having a healer join us for the raid? Cuz I’m totally down. I don’t think that question is rooftop important, though.”

“No not about the raid. It’s…” Noctis paused to think of the right words to say. “Listen, you’re important to me. Like, very important. And well, ugh...this is gonna be so awkward. But can I call you by a nickname?” 

Prompto brightened up. This was something he read about in one of those blogs. 

“Of course! But only if I can call you by one too.”

“Well, yeah I expect it to be a two-way street...Prom,” Noctis said with a shy smile.

“Ooo you already came up with a cool one! Now let’s see, what to call you...how about Sleepyhead?” Noctis snorted at that one.

“Too long.”

“TunaTerror297?”

“That’s my username for King’s Knight. And again, too long.”

“Hmmmm...then let’s go with Noct?” There was a twinkle in Prompto’s eyes as he said the nickname he actually wanted to use. Noctis gave a fake sigh of relief

“Much better.”

“Great, thanks Noct!” Prompto thoughtfully looked up at the sky. “You know, this is the first time I’ve ever gotten to call a friend by a nickname.”

Noctis froze as Prompto’s words repeated over and over again in his head.

“...friend?”

“Well yeah? This rando never got close with anyone to call anyone by a nickname. Let alone have one. All those magazines and blogs really drive the point home about how close friends must be to have nicknames though.”

_(It was at that moment Noctis realized that the supposedly foolproof ways of confessing to someone from high society would not work on his very much a commoner crush. Regis received a report on a small fire created by Noctis in the middle of the private courtyard the next day. The only loss was a patch of grass and a book titled “Courting Etiquette: The Proper Ways of Love in High Society” from the Citadel library (At least for the Citadel. For Noctis, that was plans #1-45 down the drain). Regis shrugged and signed it off. It was a pretty outdated edition of the book anyway.)_

Compliments

Their routine started a few months into their friendship. It was an ordinary day after school. 

“Nope~ I don’t wanna bother your driver with one more place to drive to. Besides, the bus gives me time to grind in King’s Knight without feeling guilty about homework.” Prompto gave a nonchalant wave at his phone.

Noctis gave him an unimpressed stare. Was he...pouting?

“Fine.” Noctis took out his phone and sent a text before turning and walking in the direction of Prompto’s destination. He stopped and turned to face Prompto again. “Are you coming or not?”

“Uh, yeah sure! Except...where are we going?”

“To your bus stop. It’s at an intersection. Ignis can pick me up there.”

 _“Huh, guess he must really wanna finish our conversation,”_ Prompto thought in confusion. “Okayyyy. Cool. Anyways, therapy chocobos should totally exist. They train dogs, so why not...”

Prompto continued their (rather one-sided) conversation. When they were about halfway to the intersection, he noticed Noctis staring. At him.

“Is there something on my face?”

Noctis continued staring.

“Buddy? Hello?”

“Did you know that you have some of the most stunning eyes in the world? I swear they change colours depending on the lighting. It goes from like a pretty blue to a mesmerizing purple. Makes anyone who notices go wild,” he drawled.

Well, that was unexpected. Prompto felt his face go red. Then he remembered a snippet on another blog.

(“Friends tend to tease each other. It can range from jokes about their crush or even sarcasm about their looks! Normally, this would be met back with some sort of response (usually a tease back). At the end of the day, it’s all just banter.” Friendly Fred wrote.)

Noctis opened his mouth to say something else. But before he could get another word out, Prompto followed back with a response (like the blog said he should).

“Thanks, but I think you got first place in that category. I swear it’s like they draw everything in.” He let out a nervous laugh.

_“Crap, that was a compliment. I should have talked about his napping habits.”_

“Anyways! Looks like we’re here! Gotta catch this bus back home or I’ll be waiting forever for the next one, I’ll talk to you later~ Hope your ride gets here soon!”

Prompto ran to his bus. When he settled onto a seat and pulled out his phone, he couldn’t help but wonder why he felt a pit in his stomach. 

_“My eyes don’t look that strange do they…?”_

The routine continued on for weeks. Any time the two left school at the same time, Prompto would decline a ride back home causing Noctis to walk with him to his bus stop. And at some point on the journey there, Noctis would make some sort of teasing remark and Prompto would tease him back (though the teasing would actually be what he thought of Noct 75% of the time). And each time he got onto the bus, he would have a tight feeling in his stomach. 

He wasn’t quite sure what to do. It was just teasing, but he never felt happy afterwards. So, he did what has worked so far. He found an article on a blog.

“‘Friends all have these dynamics to them. Whether it be nicknames or routines, it’s these aspects that make a friendship unique. Unfortunately, there will be times when a new aspect added to the friendship will make either you or your friend unhappy. That’s a big no-no! An easy fix? Communication! Having an open dialogue is important to clear up any misunderstandings on why that dynamic is still there. What’s important is that you both listen to each other and resolve it in a way that makes both of you happy!’ Communication, huh...Mingling Maria, you social genius!”

The next day, the two were walking back to the intersection like usual. The two had fallen into a comfortable silence as they approached the point where they would separate and Prompto was waiting for the moment Noctis would tease him. Once they arrived, Prompto turned to Noctis to say goodbye.

“Your freckles remind me of a starry night.” 

This was his chance. 

“Um, hey Noct? Can you stop? I really don’t like this.” 

“Why? Are you uncomfortable with-”

“Iknowyourejustteasingbuthonestlyialwaysfeelterribleandwithapledlikemeitsreallyhardtothinkofitasjustajoke”

Prompto couldn’t look at Noctis in the eyes. He stared at the cars passing by, waiting for Noctis to react.

“...Prompto, look at me?” His voice lacked the normal bored tone that he was familiar with.

He slowly turned back towards Noctis. And when he finally met his eyes, Noctis started speaking.

“I’m really sorry, Prom. It wasn’t meant to be teasing. I really did mean every one of those compliments. If you really are uncomfortable with them, I’ll stop.”

There was a certain...seriousness in Noctis’ tone. It wasn’t something Prompto had heard from him before. Full of sincerity and a hidden promise to do better. Prompto felt light on his feet.

 _“Oh thank god Noct took this well. Wait, he said he wasn’t teasing. Then that means…”_ Prompto could feel his face getting hot and his mind was going a mile a minute on what to say. 

“Oh-uh, it’s ok! I just, well, y'know it's hard for me to tell if you were being sarcastic. I thought it was a compliment turned into a roast thing. Guess I misunderstood, so there’s nothing to forgive! Though I appreciate the apology and you know all that-” He continued rambling. Prompto.exe has started malfunctioning.

“Well, it was supposed to be a compliment turned into a smooth pick up line. Then, boyfriends,” Noctis said under his breath. 

“Huh? What was that?” Prompto, still flushed, blinked at Noctis owlishly.

“Nothing! Since it’s just been a misunderstanding, does that mean I can continue complimenting you?” Now Noctis’ face was red. 

“Uhhh sure? That’ll be one of our super awesome friend dynamics, right? Compliments to each other out of the blue?”

“Well...that sounds nice, but I would rather the dynamic be between-” 

**HONKKKKKK.**

“Was that from your car? Guess the one behind the wheel must be getting impatient. Off you go! Can’t have them waiting!” Prompto said in a cheerful voice and his trademark grin. Then, his mouth melted into a soft smile. “...Thanks, Noct. I really appreciate being able to have an honest talk with my friend like this."

Then he turned to the crosswalk and made a dash to catch his bus. This time, he settled onto his seat and felt a warm sense of happiness.

_(“Isn’t that a good thing, princess? The kid’s trusts you enough to talk to you honestly and personally” Gladio flipped a page over his book._

_Noctis groaned and thumped his head onto his coffee table._

_“He trusts me as a friend! A friend! Iggy, why’d you let him honk? I was so close to telling him!”_

_“Pardon me, highness, but we had been watching the entire time. The bus had just arrived and there were groceries in the trunk” Ignis replied back dryly._

_“We could have driven him home after I told him I wanted us to compliment each other as something more than friends!”_

_“Is it that hard to confess to the kid? Why are you being so indirect with your confession?”_

_Noctis just groaned again and proceeded to lie face-into-table until dinner was served. Gladio and Ignis made a point to ignore Noctis and his murmurs of “only being friends” the entire time.)_

Handholding

It was time for the annual cultural festival. The two had been working hard, helping the photo booth their class voted on. Prompto was happy. He was one of the photographers and had been taking nice photos of the guests all morning. Noctis...not so much.

“Prince Noctis, can we have you in the photo as well?”

“Oh Prince Noctis, please be part of our photo!”

“Can you pose like this in our photo together, Prince Noctis?”

While Prompto was in charge of taking photos, Noctis had a role in managing the props that guests could use for them. Somehow, this translated to Noctis being a prop as well. So while Prompto was in the zone, Noctis was dying on the inside. Noctis had counted the minutes before their break and practically jumped when fellow classmates arrived to take over for the pair. 

“Break time. Let’s go. Thanks, Louis.” Noctis said hurriedly as he dragged Prompto out of their classroom. Prompto gave an unmanly yelp. He recovered and stopped Noctis for enough time to hand his camera over to his classmate.

“Thanks for taking over, Alice!” he called out as Noctis began dragging him out again. He was able to catch a glimpse of Alice waving him off with an amused smile.

“Geez, Noct. If I didn’t know better, I would say you were running away from your admirers.”

“Sometimes, it’s important to make a strategic retreat.” Noctis ground out and he looked forward and continued speed walking away from their classroom.

Eventually, Noctis deemed them to be safely away from the classroom and stopped dragging. He was expertly navigating his way around the crowd. That’s when Prompto noticed they were holding hands. When he tried to let go, Noctis just gripped on tighter.

“Noct, I think you can let go now. I doubt I’ll lose you, even in this crowd.” 

“Don’t wanna,” he replied back gruffly. Prompto couldn’t see his face, but he noticed Noctis’ ears were red.

 _“Aww, he doesn’t want to stop holding hands. He must really be scared of being separated,”_ Prompto thought. “Okie dokie Noct. Can’t stop you and your iron grip from letting go~”

The two spent the rest of their break perusing the food stalls and playing carnival games set up by other classes. Not once did they let go.

_(“Noct, say ahh~” Noctis made a strangled noise. “What? It’s not like you weren’t gonna have some. And your free hand is currently holding a chocolate banana. So either let go or open wide!!!”_

_Noctis chose to open wide._

_“Hold this here.”_

_“This is some weird maneuvering for a fishing rod,”_

_Prompto had his shoulder and a part of his chest pressed against Noctis’. The two were gripping a small “fishing rod” oddly, with their free hands holding the top and bottom part of the thing stick. In the middle of the rod were their other hands, still holding onto each other with the rod as an add-in spearing through._

_“Quiet. The fish are calling.”_

_“Those are fish-shaped keychains! They can’t call!”_

_The two attempted to “fish” in their awkward position. Somehow, they managed to catch two of the keychains. Matching like one of those couple keychains/)_

After the cultural festival came the weekend (which meant no Noct for two days). Prompto had completely forgotten about the hand-holding with his friend during the festival until Noctis joined their hands together as soon as the lunch bell rang.

“Come on, I don’t wanna wait too long in line for food”

Prompto looked down at their joined hands curiously but shrugged it off. 

_“I guess he must really be in a hurry to get food. Can’t blame him. The lines get horrific sometimes.”_

They continued holding hands throughout the lunch period. They let go once they got back to class, with their seats making hand-holding throughout the afternoon impossible (Prompto didn’t notice Alice making eye contact with Noctis and wiggling her eyebrows with a smirk after Noctis frowned when they let go of each other’s hands).

Once school ended, it was back to holding hands. Noctis and Prompto walked to the intersection with clasped hands and went about their conversations as though it were completely natural. At one point, Prompto even playfully swung them around in an exaggerated manner and caused Noctis to snort (“Dork” “Look in the mirror and say that again”). The two let go once more to go their separate ways and Prompto got home with a slight curiosity on why they were holding hands all day.

 _"Must be a one-time thing,”_ he thought as he drifted off into his dreams.

It wasn’t. 

The hand holding continued. After a week of hand-holding, Prompto wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He knows other people in the school holding hands, even ones that are clearly friends. Unsure and unwilling to ask Noctis about it, he went with the efficient method of a Moogle search. Searching “friends holding hands normal” resulted in many articles about the new wave of hand-holding amongst incredibly close friends and how male friends holding hands are becoming more of a norm. 

“So Noctis thinks of me as a super-duper close friend then…” he felt a smile grow on his face. Satisfied with his findings, Prompto went back to tackling his homework. 

After another week or two of hand-holding (with Prompto occasionally initiating it), Noctis took him aside to the rooftop again to tell him something important.

“Look, I’m sure you’re wondering about all the hand-holding. You’re probably really confused and slightly weirded out but I need to tell you why I’ve been doing it.” His eyes looked determined to get to his goal. 

“Noct, chillax. I get what it’s all about. I’m really happy you feel this way too.” Prompto gave Noctis a shy smile. Any tension Noctis seemed to have left his body as he let out a sigh of relief. “I’m really glad that you want to be best friends. Though honestly, you should have been upfront and said so, I had to Moogle what hand-holding was supposed to mean between friends.”

(The two left the rooftop holding hands. Though Noctis didn’t show it with his posture, his eyes showed a man who lost his soul. Prompto was a chipper as ever.)

_(“Pftttt...he’s got you there Prince Charmless.” Gladio laughed._

_“Indeed. Hand holding has become a platonic sign of close camaraderie amongst the general population for quite a while now. How you didn’t notice that in school is beyond me.”_

_Noctis groaned in his pillow and he lied face down on his couch. “Just give me some pity for a moment will you.”_

_Gladio snorted._

_“Maybe you should take your **best friend’s** advice and be more upfront about what you want.”_

_Noctis threw a spare pillow at Gladio and let out another face down, sad groan._

_“Will you stop holding Prompto’s hand from now on then, your highness?”_

_Noctis popped his head up and squinted at Ignis._

_“No, of course not. I like holding his hand.”)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The moment Noctis realized that nicknames weren’t something closely intimate with lovers and family like the book claimed it to be, he began calling anyone he considered a friend a nickname partially out of spite and partially in hopes of pissing off a conservative nobleman. He didn’t learn that the nickname thing was super out of date until he heard Cor sarcastically call Regis “Reggie” in private and he asked Ignis if his dad was dating Cor. Ignis refused to answer and Noctis brought is up with Regis during one of their dinners.  
> *Noctis continued his random compliments to Prompto. However, he never followed the compliment with his confession afterwards. He thinks it’s bad luck to try after being called a friend when Prompto realized all his compliments were genuine. The Sitting Incident happened two weeks later.  
> *There was a point later on when Prompto boldly exclaimed that he was tired of being the bottom. Noctis choked on his food and turned into a stuttering mess as he asked Prompto what he meant. Turns out, Prompto was just annoyed that his hand was always under Noct’s when they held hands. Prompto was the top hand next time.
> 
> Thank you all for reading and your kind words. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Noctis had at least 800+ plans and only carried out 201 of them. Only 15 of them made any real progress towards the checking off the "They're totally dating" list. Also, Gladio for sure supported some of the more insane ideas Noctis had is professing his love before Ignis gave a disappointed mother sigh and gave a firm no.


End file.
